FOURTH MEETING.

Collegiate Institution, 10th February, 1853.

J. W. WHITEHEAD, ESQ., in the Chair.

PROCEEDINGS.

The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed.

The Certificates of three Candidates for Membership were read for the first time.

The following gentlemen were duly elected:

E. W. Anderson, 23, Falkner Square, Liverpool. Pudsey Dawson, Hornby Castle, Lancashire. Jesse Hartley, Derby Road, Bootle. John Bernard Hartley, Aigburth. Robert Platt, Dean Water," Prestbury. Thomas Wood, Blue Coat Hospital, Liverpool.

The following DONATIONS to the Society were laid upon the table:

1. From the Societies.Archseologia Cambrensis, No. xiii., second

series.Vol. ii., of the publications of the Chester

Architectural Archaeological and Historic Society.

The publications of the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society, for 1852.

2. From the Author.Two copies of a description of Holme's Cha­

pel, Cheshire, by T. W. Barlow, F.L.S.3. From other Donors.

Charles Roach Smith, Catalogue of the Kerrich Collection of Roman F.S.A. Coins, now in the possession of the Society

of Antiquaries.

R. Rawlinson, Esq.

Dr. Kendrick.

James Boardman, Esq. Rev. H. Tudsbury

Turner.John Grindlay, Esq.

Two copies of the Preliminary Report of the Board of Health, respecting Chorley.

Lithographs, illustrative of the celebrated Winwick Oak. Its branches extended 29 yards in one direction, and 33 in another; and 150 gentlemen dined beneath it, on the 20th of August, 181.1.

Representation of Liverpool in 1600.The Primitive Episcopal Prayer Book, as used

in Liverpool.Gore's Directoiy for 1777.The Globe newspaper for May 5th, 1807.Broadside containing despatches of Sep. 12th,

1799.A Form of Prayer for the success of His

Majesty's Arms, and for Peace, on a Ge­ neral Fast Day, 1780.

A Form of Prayer used at the General Fast of 28th February, 1794.

The following articles were EXHIBITED :

A double pointed stone hammer, six inches long.

A striated stone ball, the size of a melon, supposed to have been used in warfare, at the end of a pole, like the Morning Star of the North.

A bronze axe-head, 6J inches long.A stone malleus, which had been used as a

door-weight.The three-legged Roman pot of bronze, found

near Carlisle, and shown some time ago in the Arcade of this town.

By James Boardman, Esq. Three autograph letters of F. D. Brown,(Mrs. Hemans,) addressed to her earliest patron, Mr. Matthew Nicholson, of Liver­ pool. They are dated respectively 28th August, 1809, llth August, 1810, and 17th July, 1811.

By Major-General the Hon. A MS. book, thick folio, the property of Lord Sir Edward Gust, K.C.H. Crewe.

By Joseph Mayer, F.S.A. A curiously constructed clock with two dialson the front, indicating 60 parts repeated four times; and a recessed dial marked with

By E. Benn, Esq., of Vauxhall Distillery.

By Dr. Kendrick.

By R. H. Brackstone, Esq., London.

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By Dr. Hume.

By C. B. Robinson, Esq.

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ten divisions, dividing the day into four parts of six hours each. It was made by Tompion, of London, who died during the great plague of KifiO.

A very beautiful bronze head, of Greek work- rnansliip, representing Minerva helmeted; it was found near Mayence.

A bronze fibula, found at the Roman camp of Chesterton, near Newcastle-under-Lyne.

A string of coloured beads, found in a Mero­ vingian grave in France.

An illuminated missal of the fourteenth cen­ tury, ornamented with exquisitely drawn miniatures as its initial letters.

Ulster Journal of Archaeology; 1st number, containing a Review of the Historic So­ ciety's fourth volume.

Dr. Blackmore's Poem of Prince Arthur, fol. 109fi.

By J. W. Whitehead, Esq. A piece of copper, 9J inches by 8J, with thecomers cut off, weighing Clbs. 4oz., and stamped at the corners and in the centre. It was issued in Sweden by Frederick, after the country had been exhausted of the coin by the wars of Charles XII. It remained in circulation till 1777, when it was decreed that it should pass no longer as coin but be sold for its market value. Pieces of this description were coined of the value of 4, 3, 2, 1£, 1, I, and £ a dol­ lar silver currency, the silver dollar being three times the value of a copper dollar.

Also in contrast with this, a Russian copper coin, an English twopenny piece, a farthing, and a half-farthing.

By J. Stonehouse, Esq. Two figures carved in soft stone, apparentlyhusband and wife, but separate, and very peculiar in their position and ornaments. They appear to be of Maltese workmanship.

A wooden model of a salt factory ; plan of a salt district; section of a salt mine; and nu­ merous specimens of salt; as illustrative of his own paper.

Dr. Hume explained briefly the nature of the book exhibited by Sir E. Cust, It was said to treat of "the Stafford Family hi Cheshire," whereas it

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referred to the Lords Stafford of Staffordshire; the fortunes of whose family were among the most eventful in history. It was a copy made in the latter years of Queen Elizabeth, of documents which were dated in general in the early years of Henry VIII. Dr. Hume discovered between the leaves, an original letter dated 18th March, 1014, written by a steward or factor to a gentleman named Offley, a paternal ancestor of Lord Crewe, who then possessed part of the Stafford estates. In it he refers to this very book, then well known, for a true copy of certain patents and grants.

Dr. Hume also read one of the letters of F. D. Brown (Mrs. Hemans).A communication was read from Thomas Moore, sen., Esq., mentioning

with regret the demolition of certain family pews, in the recent alterations of St. Nicholas' Church. From time immemorial they had belonged to the Bank-Hall Estate, and were specially mentioned in the deed of con­ veyance to the Earl of Derby, in 1724.

The Diploma which Mr. Mayer holds as Honorary Member of an Anti­ quarian Society in France having been shown by the Secretary, it was resolved unanimously, that the Council be directed to procure a design for a Diploma for the Historic Society.

PAPERS.

I. SALT, AND ITS MANUFACTURE IN CHESHIRE.

By James Stonehouse.

As there is scarcely any article in common use which presents itself to notice in so many interesting points of view as the simple but precious mineral salt, and as it enters so generally into our food, and is of such value for manufacturing as well as agricultural purposes, it may not be considered undeserving of our particular attention, especially as the neigh­ bouring county from which part of the title of our Society is taken, is famous throughout the world for its brine pits, salt mines, and works.

We find in the Bible that salt is spoken of frequently. In Genesis xix., 26, it is first introduced to notice in the fate of Lot's wife. In Leviticus ii., 13, where meat offerings are spoken of, it is a special command that salt should be used. " And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt: neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the Covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering. With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt." Salt is also referred to as symbolical of barrenness, alluding to the salt plains on the desert, where no grass is to be found growing, or, if appearing, in a very impoverished state.

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The Greeks held salt like the Israelites in high estimation they mixed it up with cakes used in their religious ceremonies and at their sacrificial altars.

In the 9th Book of the Iliad, line 282, we find it spoken of as " sacred salt." The term " sacred" or " divine" arose no doubt from its property in arresting dissolution and preventing corruption. Lycophron, the Greek poet, says, "Thou must reverence the sea;" and this is thought to he the reason why Venus is said to have sprung from the ocean.

The Romans freely made use of salt. Horace and other writers fre­ quently allude to it. Salt was considered efficacious in all cases of in­ fectious disorders, and was applied by sprinkling brine with an olive branch, wherever contagion prevailed.

Thus, in salt used by the ancients two remarkable circumstances present themselves to our notice. One, that Jews, Greeks, and Romans, con­ sidered it of such importance that they used it alike in all their religious ceremonies; while in the custom of the Romans employing it where con­ tagion and death had been present, we trace perhaps the origin of placing a plate of salt on the breast of a corpse as a powerful antiseptic.

Besides being regarded as sacred, salt was esteemed as a symbol of endurance and attachment by the people of yore, as well as a sign of com­ pact, no doubt from its indestructibility. It was considered that when once a guest had partaken of salt beneath a roof, his person was inviolate however he might abuse the trust confided in him. Mr. Lane in his translation of "The Thousand and One Nights," gives a curious illustration of the reverence of the Easterns towards the eating of salt in another man's house. In this case, a robber had penetrated into the palace of Dirhem the Governor of Seestan, and in the dark, having tasted a piece of salt which he had picked up from the floor, he actually withdrew without his booty, from his regard to the rites of hospitality and custom.

We are told by De la Beche that salt in its mineral state is not found in the oldest stratified rocks, but that it appears in all the most recent forma­ tions. Here is a remarkable instance of the goodness of the Almighty, demonstrating his thoughtfulness of man in providing for his wants. Before man's creation, in the world's earliest infancy, we may suppose that salt was not necessary, but knowing man's need for it, it appeared at the

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necessary time. Salt seems to be found everywhere : in the bowels of the earth, on the mountain top, and in the wide waste of the ever-rolling waters. In Peru we find it 7000 feet above the sea. In Cheshire we find it 330 feet below the earth's surface. In Karamania, where the air is highly rarefied and dry, the people use salt in blocks, with which they build their houses. The Island of Ormus, in the Persian Gulf, is said to be composed of one entire mass of salt. Laborcle describes the appearance of a mountain, near Cardona, in Spain, which is nearly all salt, to be one of the most magnificent spectacles the eye of man can rest upon, when illuminated by the morning sun. This mountain is 500 feet high. There are extensive salt mines near Burgos. At Wielitska, near Cracow, the mines have been constantly worked for five hundred years; in fact, Cracow itself rests upon salt mines. At one place in Syria, Fuller tells us, salt is manufactured so beautifully white that he calls the locality " the Nantwich of Palestine." The salt mines of Hallein chiefly supply Upper Austria, the Tyrol, and Western Bohemia. Those of Gallicia, Hungary, and Transylvania, supply the remaining portion of the Empire. Scotland cannot boast of salt forma­ tions ; and it was thought, until very lately, that Ireland was also destitute in this particular; but recent discoveries have shown that there is a veiy valuable, and as it is supposed, extensive rock salt deposit at Carrick- fergus, on the estate of the Marquis of Downshire.

In America there are several places where there are extensive salt deposits. They are found in Arkansas ; on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, in the Alleghany mountains, and in the valley of the Ohio and the Missouri. The sal t works at Onoudaga are the most profitable in the States. The brine springs of America are very numerous, and are called " Salt Licks," or " Deer Licks," from the numbers of deer and other animals resorting peri­ odically to them. Animals generally are passionately fond of salt. Sheep particularly relish it. Birds have also a strong predilection for it. Pigeons may be attached to any place where they can have free access to it. At the Deer Licks, flocks of these birds are constantly seen hovering. In the Monthly Magazine for 1810, it is stated that the celebrated Cheltenham springs were actually discovered by the resorting of numerous flocks of doves to the spot. It was thought at one period that Africa was utterly without salt deposits, but there have been lately discoveries, beyond Caffraria, of one or two large salt lakes. There are also salt deposits on both sides of the Atlas mountains. In Abyssinia, travellers speak of a salt plain of

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"four days' journey." Mungo Park, however, and other travellers, re­ mark upon the scarcity and even absence of salt in the parts of Africa which they explored. Park iu particular notices its rarity in one district or region, so as to become subject for a saying when a man's station in life was mentioned; if he were wealthy, that "he eats salt with his food," and Park also says that he has seen " children sucking a piece of salt as a luxurious dainty, as one of our children would a piece of sugar-candy."

While we find salt presented to us in its mineral state, we must for one instant turn to the boundless ocean, which were it not for its saltness and its restlessness would become a curse instead of a blessing to mankind. That the sea is salter in some parts than others is a well-known fact. Its saltness is much less towards the poles than it is under the equator. The Southern ocean contains more salt than the Northern in the ratio of 102919, to 102757 where the sea is deepest and most remote from the land, while its saltness is diminished where there are great masses of ice. Inland seas, though communicating with the ocean, are much less charged with saline matter than the open ocean, but the Mediterranean is said to contain rather more salt than the ocean. The sea is also salter at the top than at the bottom; and this is established by the fact that if a bottle hermetically sealed be lowered to a great depth it will be brought up full of pure water, or water nearly so. The average strength of salt in sea water may be estimated as one-thirtieth of its own weight.

Dr. Hallcy has endeavoured to account for the saltness of the sea by ascribing it to the soluble substances which are incessantly washed into it by rivers, which, he states, in their utmost purity nevertheless contain some portion of saline matter. The watery parts being constantly evaporated add to the density of the briny portions, the latter not being a volatile subject, the stock is being constantly added to. Other scientific men imagine that as in the earth there are large deposits of salt, so at the bottom of the ocean there are also immense tracts of salt formations, which by continual wash­ ings contribute to the briny state of the ocean. The mode of making salt from sea water in places where only brine-springs exist, may now be briefly mentioned. As may be supposed, salt is largely extracted from the ocean yearly. By reason of slow solar evaporation the crystals from sea water are much krger than those produced by the agency of artificial heat. Sea or Bay salt is also considered stronger and purer than salt from a mineral spring. As early as the 12th century abbeys were endowed with salt works.

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Holyrood was endowed by David I. It had salt pans at Airth, near the head of the Firth of Forth, where the remains of some salt pans still, I believe, exist. The mode of making it was greatly improved in the time of Queen Mary. Mary brought over with her in her train from France some French salt makers, to whom she granted an exclusive right to manu­ facture it, and who introduced some important and improved methods in so doing. These privileges they enjoyed until the time of Charles II.* At one period there were in the Firth of Forth and the Solway, at Kuthwell, numerous salt works, where the manufacture was extensively carried on. It was calculated that about 1,300 gallons of sea water produced from ] 6 to 20 bushels of salt, of 50 Ibs. each, every twenty-four hours. The downfall of the Scotch manufacture may be attributed to two causes. It received on two occasions deadly blows one at the Union, which may be said to have prostrated it the other on the repeal of the duty, which annihilated it while in that condition.

The best sea salt is broughtfrom St. Ubes, in Portugal, a specimen of which is exhibited. It is of great purity and strength. There is not much brought to this country, the low price of salt here giving no encouragement to shippers.

The mode of manufacturing sea or " bay salt," as it is called, is nearly every where as follows. The ground near the sea is banked up to prevent its being overflooded at high water. The space between the walls is divided into compartments which successively communicate with each other. At flood tide, the first compartment is filled with sea water. Here it is allowed to remain until the impurities have settled: the water is then run off into another tank, and here as in the first instance, the aqueous portions of the fluid are evaporated. After remaining some time the liquor is again run off into another but shallower compartment lined with clay well rammed down. At this stage of the process, the water is brought to such a state that from the solar evaporation which has taken place, a crust

* The rich salt mines of Cheshire, which have added so* much to the commercial prosperity of Liverpool since the river Weaver was rendered navigable, and since the coal-fields of Lancashire were connected with the salt district of Cheshire, had little effect in promoting that prosperity in the time of the Stuarts. Owing to the dearness of fuel in the heart of Cheshire, and the difficulty of getting the salt down to the coast, the for­ eign salt-trade scarcely existed in Cheshire. It was then confined to Newcastle-on-Tyne, and those parts of the valley of the Forth where the coal strata reach the sea. In 1635 Sir William Brercton, whose family was engaged in the salt-trade, visited Newcastle, and has recorded that there was more salt made there than at any place in England Bailies.

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has been formed on the surface, which is then broken by the workmen and raked to the sides, with wooden rakes. On some of the coasts of France, and also of China, salt is produced from sea sand steeped in salt water, after which it is evaporated in boilers. In Holland there are many exten­ sive salt works or refineries. The principal are be found near Zwyndrecht, near Dort. Vast quantities of rock salt are annually shipped from Liver­ pool for the use of these works. The amount may be taken at 20,000 tons. Last year a great alteration was made in the management of the excise duty on salt in Holland, in consequence of the frauds perpetrated. Rock salt can now be bonded and taken out when required by the refiner, by paying a duty of 9 gueldres 11 cents per 100 Netherlands' pounds, that is £7 10s. per ton of 20 cwt. Some years ago, there were twenty-nine salt works at Lymington in Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight, where sea salt was evapo­ rated by solar evaporation, as well as by fire. In some parts of France, where brine springs are to be found, the salt is manufactured in a peculiar way. In Bakewell's travels in Tarentaine a full account of the process is given. Another process is described by Bakewell as invented by a Savoy­ ard named Battel, in which the concentrative process is exhibited by an arrangement of cords, down which the brine runs from troughs, falling drop by drop. In Russia, salt is obtained by freezing the sea water. The ice being removed, the brine remains in a highly concentrated state, and it is then evaporated by boiling; the brine solution separating as it were into two parts, the pure water becoming solid ice, and the salt water remaining in a liquid state.

The saline springs spread over England are very numerous ; the greater part of them are however of a medicinal nature, and in most cases they do not yield a sufficient body of salt to remunerate any one to manufacture from them, especially those in parts where fuel is expensive, from remoteness to the coal districts.

The manufacture of salt in Cheshire is of very remote date. We find by the earliest historical records that when the Romans obtained a footing in Britain and overran this part of it, they found the ancient Britons manu­ facturing salt by pouring brine upon faggots of charcoal, from which they scraped off the crystals as they formed. The Gauls and Germans also made it this way; and it is a very singular circumstance that amongst some barbarous nations of the present day the same process is in operation. We have proof that this was the practice of the ancient Britons, because por-

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tions of charred wood, with the crystals attached thereto, are said to have been dug up in great quantities in the neighbourhood of Nantwich, which, in the Roman time, was a great place for the manufacture of salt. And these faggots, or pieces of charred wood, exhibited the marks of anti­ quity, while corroborative circumstances proved their origin and use. The salt produced by this very primitive plan was of course very dirty and dis­ coloured, being mixed with ashes and other impurities. When the Britons observed the mode of their Roman conquerors, and noticed its obvious superiority, they at once abandoned their own mode and adopted it, calling the salt so produced from its whiteness " Heleddwen." It is somewhat remarkable that since the time of the Romans, little or no alteration has taken place in the manner of manufacturing the article. Within the last twenty-five years, there have been many attempts made to increase the the quantity made from the quantity of fuel consumed, but no other way of obtaining salt has been discovered except by evaporation.

Nantwich was evidently held in considerable esteem for its brine springs by the ancient Britons, who called it Hellath-Wen, or the place of the White Brine Pit. Northwich was called Hellath-du, or the Black Brine Pit. Camdeu says that in his time the Wallers drew up the brine from a pit in leathern buckets. The access to the pit was by a flight of stone steps. He says that "the Northwich brine is sharp and strong beyond any other." At one period at Nantwich there were some persons in authority, termed the Rulers of Walling they were annually elected by the jury out of the most substantial occupiers of Walling, who were the guardians of the salt springs, and entrusted to set the price of salt and to limit the times of mak­ ing according to known customs, which they were sworn to uphold. These rulers of Wallling bad authority " to order an equal division of the brine to the several owners of the Wich-houses; rooms for stowage of wood were provided even to an inch; they were to have a continual care and circum­ spection, lest these pits should be deprived of any old rites and duties, or that the salt springs should receive mixture or prejudice from fresh springs, or other nuisances ; all which and more is included in the term Walling." The Romans also manufactured salt to a considerable extent at Northwich. The road formed there by these industrious people gave great facilities for its transport into the interior.

The word " wich," which we find so frequently appended to the names

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of towns* is Saxon, and signifies " salt," showing that salt has been at some time or another made thereabout.

In the time of the Saxon Heptarchy, the salt springs of Cheshire and Worcestershire were in operation; the King and Earl Edwin divided between them the toll levied upon all salt made. Of this toll the king took two- thirds, the Earl one-third. Hence we have the term now in use of " Royalty Rent," which is a rent, however, not now paid to the king, but to the owners of Brine Springs; these supply the manufacturers who have no springs of their own. The royalty rent at Winsford is 6d. per ton, subject besides to a ground rent for the land. Lord Stanley charges Is. per ton to his tenants. The ground rent ranges from £150 to £200 per annum. Earl Edwin appears to have possessed large salt works at Aghton, whence he supplied his household free of toll. But on all salt sold and carried away, the toll was duly exacted and paid. Matthew Paris says that " when Henry III. waged war with the Welsh, he stopped the manufacture of the salt works in Cheshire, nor allowed them to be used again until the war was over."

In Domesday Book the toll upon salt is mentioned as a considerable item of revenue, indeed, it is somewhat remarkable that in most countries where salt is made, it is set up as a sort of governmental milch cow, from which a fruitful source of profit may be derived. We find that the Romans paid a heavy duty upon salt, as well as other nations of antiquity. In Germany, and indeed all over the continent, the salini! cow is well milked. In India, the revenue which the East India Company derives from the salt duty and from its manufacture, is enormous. By one return it is shewn that, in the ten years from 1885 to 1845, the receipts were from £900,000 to a million sterling, annually. In this country, from 1790 to 1825 we had a saline cow of our own which yielded a duty of, at first in 1796, 12s. per bushel or £20 per ton. This duty was raised in 1806 to 15s. per bushel or £30 per ton, and so it continued until 1825, when this obnoxious impost was totally repealed. In 1801 Mr. Vansittart devoted much attention to the repeal of the salt dudes. At that time a committee was granted to enquire into the subject. This committee reported the salt duties as being highly detri­ mental and demoralizing to the public, to a degree far exceeding the value of the payment of the tax itself. In 1816 another movement was made,

* Leland says salt at one time was manufactured at Shotwick, near Neston, and that it should be spelt Shotwich. If salt were made here, it could only be by evaporation from sea water ns at Gurston.

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and considerable agitation took place on the subject, especially in this town. As before stated, the tax was not removed until 1825. The subject of the Indian salt trade is one so closely connected with the interests of Liverpool, that it is to be regretted that space will not admit of ample information being given relative to it. It will be remembered that next year the Charter of the East India Company will have to be renewed, and it remains to be seen whether the Cheshire salt makers, the merchants of Liverpool, and the manu­ facturers of Manchester and elsewhere, will submit to the present iniquitous monopoly, which, while it shuts out British interests in India, stands in the way like a wall of adamant against progress, and the best wishes and hopes of philanthropists. The salt monopoly is frightful in its tendencies, and calls aloud for entire abolition. The poor and oppressed natives of India, who although only earning, as some of them do, 80s. a year, have actually to pay 2d. per Ib. forsalt; an article so conducive to health and necessary to human life. The salt monopoly of India keeps down the spirit of improvement in the native Indian, and prevents him from progressing in intellect with the rest of the world. This may seem a strange assertion to make, but it can readily be proved. While we allow to the European from ISlbs. to 92 Ibs. of salt per year, as necessary, the native of Hindostan can procure but 12 Ibs. as computed by the Board of Salt itself, and when it is consi­ dered how insipid is the food used in India, and the only sort procurable by these poor people, we may readily believe that salt must be of vital importance to make that insipid food palatable. The East India Company, with a sort of fictitious show of philanthrophy, regulates the price of salt so that the native shall not be ovei'charged and cheated. This supposititious tender­ ness can be exemplified both by facts and figures.

In Domesday Book three places are mentioned as producing great quan­ tities of salt in Cheshire, viz . Wich in Warmendstrew hundred or Nant- wich, Aliud Wich in Middlewich hundred, that is Middlewich, and Norwich or Northwich in the hundred of that name.

In the time of Edward the Confessor the Nantwich salt springs were farmed out at 21s. When Hugh Lupus took possession of this part of the country, there was only one salt pit in operation, which was granted to William Malvedery, Baron of Nantwich, at a rent of £10, although the whole hundred was valued at only 22s.

In Leland's time, 1544, the Nantwich works seem to have been flourish-

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ing, as he says that, " Wherefore there be at Nanptwich one brine spring so abundant, that there be 111 sailers." It seems that in his time the brine was evaporated in lead pans, the fire being raised by what was called " \vich wood," of which there were large plantations in the vicinity, whence the owners of such plantations derived a goodly revenue. In King's Vale Royal, which was written in 1656 by Daniel King, we find the follow­ ing stated, "that Robert Needham had found out a Seth (that is, a brine pit) by the Weaver at Boddington.and on the other side in the lands of Sir Thomas Smith, in the lordship of Hatherton, whence they have taken a more profitable way of making salt, in pans of iron to which they put coals, the common fewel of the country. By this the salt is made cheaper than by using lead pans with wood fewel, which old way, notwithstanding, the boilers in the wiches will maintain to be the best." We also find a further description written by William Smith, who was Rouge Dragon Poursuivant, " Here at this town (Nantwich) is great store of white salt made : it hath one salt spring (which they call a brine pit) standing hard upon the Weaver, from whence they cany the brine to the wich houses, saving such houses as stand on the other side of the river. Within the said houses are great barrels set deep into the earth which are all filled with salt water, and when the bell ringeth they begin to make fire under the leads. Every house, that is wich house, hath six leads, wherein they seethe the said salt water, and as it seethes, the wallers (which are commonly women) do with a wooden rake gather the salt from the bottom, which they put into a long basket of wicker, which they call a salt barrow, and so the water voideth and the salt remaineth."

Connected with the salt trade of old, there were many rights and privi­ leges which I dare not, for time's sake, enlarge upon. But at Middle- wich it seems, at one period, the purchasers from the other hundreds had the toll upon salt doubled, and any one overloading his cart so that the axle-tree or his horse's back broke, was fined 2s., if either gave way within one mile of the spring. Religious observances were not wanting either, in connexion with the making of salt, for amongst other ceremonies and customs which were prevalent of old, we find that on Ascension day a pro­ cession was formed to a prolific spring called " The Biat" near Nantwich, when the spring head was decorated with flowers, and a prayer offered up for a continued plentiful flowing of the brine, as well as a hymn of thanks­ giving to Almighty God for the byegone profitable supply. This ceremony

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was called " the Blessing of the Brine." The custom of blessing the brine may have had its origin in some old Eoman or Saxon ceremonies handed down to us, somewhat altered from the originals, but still bearing traces of them in some of its features. The Germans, in some parts, have an idea that a prayer offered up at a brine spring is certain of being acceptable. Nor are we of this day free from superstition respecting salt, as the act of spilling it is considered to be very unlucky. The ancient and well-known custom of placing the salt at table to mark the station of those assembled round the hospitable board, requires only a mere allusion to it. Amongst many curious superstitions relating to salt, a little of it sprinkled on the cover of an old bible is considered a certain protection against evil spirits. In Scotland, in some parts, it is considered necessary to ensure good luck on entering a new house or fresh tenanting an old one, to strew the floors with salt. Many Scotch people have a notion that eating too much salt has a tendency to darken the complexion. There are many other curious customs and superstitions connected with it.

The salt works scattered over the United Kingdom may be thus enu­ merated : In Cheshire there are 60, Staffordshire 2, Worcestershire 13, Durham 2, and Lancashire 1. These 78 works produce annually 800,000 tons of salt. The pannage may be calculated at 100,000 feet, and the amount of money invested in the machinery, pans, flats, barges, &c., may be estimated at one and a half millions sterling, while employment is provided for upwards of 6,000 men. The value of the Cheshire salt works may be reckoned at £500,000. Of the salt manufactured in England, one- half is exported to the United States, the Canadas, the Baltic, and the fisheries in the north of Ireland and Scotland. The remainder is consumed for household purposes, alkali works, manufacturing and agricultural purposes.*

It is said that the Tyne alone absorbs 70,000 tons yearly, in its alkali works.

The total quantity of salt made at Winsford in 1851, was 331,657 tons; in 1852, 858,456£ tons. At Northwich in 1851, 283,013 tons; and in 1852, 232,957 tons; making a total in the last year of 59l,413J tons.

* It may be briefly mentioned that Napier, the inventor of logarithms, two centuries ago suggested the use of salt as a manure, and strangely enough, about the same period, 1590, King James of Scotland threatened to destroy Edinburgh and sow it with salt, as a punishment to the inhabitants for their riotous behaviour.

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Of this quantity, about 500,000 tons are brought to Liverpool yearly for shipment. Now when we consider this large quantity passing as it were through our hands, the salt trade may be considered as one of no small im­ portance to the port of Liverpool; affording, not only employment to numbers of men, but also to the shipping of the port."

The salt trade as carried on at present cannot be said to be a remu­ nerative one. The mode of making salt is so simple, and comparatively speaking, requires so little capital, that the manufacture of it is in many hands, and these must go on producing and selling, or stop their works. The consequence is, that 'more salt is forced into the market than can he profitably disposed of, and, it is a fact, that frequently rock salt has been at a higher price than the manufactured article; for this reason, that the proprietors of the rock mines being few in number, have been enabled to agree amongst themselves as to the quantity to be delivered, according to the demand, so that a remunerative price for the raw material could be obtained. When the duty was levied on Salt, as it was paid at the seat of manufacture, it required a large capital to carry on the business, the trade was therefore in fewer hands, and consequently highly profit­ able. To shew the amount of available capital that must have been required, it may be instanced, that one party alone paid £33,000 duty in the course of six weeks. When the duty was levied it was paid at the works, and the salt was re-weighed at Liverpool under Excise supervision, if the flat weighed short the proprietor had to make up the deficiency, and if over, that overplus salt was seized.

From a statement shewn me by a gentleman connected with this trade, I find that some of the present Cheshire salt works have been in existence thirty, forty, fifty, and sixty years, while one work dates one hundred years back. A curious record that would he, which would shew the " ups" and " downs" the trade has suffered during this period.

A salt work may be thus briefly described. It consists, first, of a reser­ voir, into which the brine is pumped from the spring. Secondly, there are the pans, into which the brine is conveyed by means of pipes from the reservoir. Thirdly, the furnaces which heat the brine. Fourthly, hot houses for stoving the salt; and, fifthly, store houses for storing the salt, previous to its being transmitted to its destination. The average size of a salt pan is 40 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 15 inches deep. A salt work

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of average extent, will produce about 350 tons of salt per week, each pan turning out 25 tons per week, and requiring the attendance of two men, who are paid at the rate of 2s. 9d. per day. At Northwich there may be about 1,600 men employed, of whom three-fourths work the day through, and one-fourth the night. It is somewhat curious, that in seething the brine, at times the crystals will not form. In this case, the workmen throw into the pan a little oil (at one time butter was used,) or calves' feet reduced to a jelly. This oleaginous application immediately spreads over tho surface of the pan, and a scum arises which appears to be the result of a purification of the brine, as after this scum is taken off, the crystals commence forming. I may here remark, that salt is always found in cubes, even in its most minute particles, as may be observed in the specimens now exhibited. There are three or four kinds of salt made. Bay salt is very large grained. This is made by slow evaporation at a temperature of 110 degrees. Common salt, which is coarse grained, is produced at a heat of 175 degrees. Stoved, or fine table salt, .at 320 degrees. The last description of salt is put into boxes from the pans, whence it is transferred to stoves, and there consolidated and dried in the course of five or six days.

It is a most interesting and curious sight to see the salt forming into crystals at the top of the brine. They commence in small cubes, and gradually increase, until tbeir density carries them to the bottom of the pan. The residuum at the bottom of the pan, which causes great wear and tear, is a hard crust called pan scratch or pan bake. As the salt forms and falls, it is raked to the sides of the pans, and piled on to the barrows, as they are called, at the sides, where it is allowed to drain; which drainage is not wasted, as by means of pipes the brine returns to the pans, where it is again put under process of evaporation. After the salt has been suffi­ ciently drained, it is removed to the stove house, and stoved according to quality and texture.

The brine at Northwich and Winsford is considered to be of the best quality. It is charged with saline matter to the amount of 25 per cent, of its own weight. The brine is found at a depth of 150 feet, and occa­ sionally flows within 40 feet of the surface. The coal used at the Cheshire works is from Wigau and St. Helens, and is termed " Burgey," and costs the manufacturer 8s. per ton. On the return of the flats from Liver­ pool, they call at St. Helens Gap Railway, and there load with coal. The Wigan coal is brought from that district in canal boats, which return loaded

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with salt inland to Manchester and elsewhere. The quantity of coal used in the manufacture of salt may be taken in these proportions : two tons of coal to produce three tons of fine or table salt, and one ton of coal to produce two tons of common salt. In the manufacture of salt, it is quite obvious that the more salt that can be produced by the employment of any given quantity of coal, the more profitable must be that manufacture. The prices of salt may now be estimated at 3s. Od. per ton for rock salt, 6s. and 7s. for common salt, 10s. and 11s. per ton for stoved or fine, and 18s. for bay. This is exclusive of the freight upon salt sent to Liverpool, which is 3s. per ton, and which sum is thus divided. The Weaver dues, for the use of the navigation are Is. per ton, of this a word or two presently. The master of the flat takes 1 s. 3d. for working the flat. Out of this he pays the wages of one man and a boy, and haulage from Weston Point to Northwich or Winsford. To Northwich the charge is 15s. for a horse, and 5s. for a man to assist. If a gang of men are employed, they are paid at the rate of Os. per man. As with the hauling by horse, the amount covers the trip to Northwich and back. The passage, or voyage if it may be so termed, occupies upon an average, going up light, five and a half hours, while eight or nine hours are occupied in the downward journey. The passage from Runcorn to Liverpool occupies three or four hours. Returning light, of course less time. The further the distance up the Weaver, necessarily the cost of haulage is greater. Having thus accounted for 2s. 3d. of the freight, it remains only to be said that the 9d. balance is paid to the flat owner for the use of his barge.

So intimately connected is the river Weaver with the salt manufacture, that a word or two must be said upon it. Along the whole of its course, or nearly so, and that of its tributary, the Wheelock, there are numberless brine springs, which being found close to the banks, enable the proprietors of works to ship their produce without the expense of land caniage. It may here be remarked, that there is not a more interesting excursion to take in this vicinity, than a trip to Northwich in the summer time, to inspect the salt works and mines in that neighourhood, and return to Liverpool by the Weaver navigation. The Weaver meanders through a pretty country, which everywhere presents to view, sweet landscapes, and pastoral scenes of great beauty. The eye meets with cottage and farm, garden, orchard, and corn field, with here and there rich

1U

pastures studded with the herd and fold; while constantly may be seen shining in the glorious sunlight, the large red or white sail of some distant flat, as it threads its way through the tortuous windings of the little sparkling river. Then we have constantly falling on the ear, the pleasant country sounds of distant village chimes, the songs of birds, and the cheer­ ful voices of the haulers as they pursue their toilsome occupation. Master Draytou, in his Polyolbion, highly extols the medicinal qualities of the Weaver, and states that it is the resort of the sea gods and nereids when they are sick.

The river Weaver, although of small extent, is so to speak, a mine of wealth to tho county of Chester. It is one instance of the most profitable navigation in the world. From its dues, different parts of the county of Chester have been enriched with noble buildings, religious edifices, country halls, and public works. It is mentioned elsewhere, that Is. per ton of the salt freight is paid to the Weaver navigation. Of this the manufacturers do not complain, because in point of fact they do not pay it. It is paid by the Liverpool merchants, who are repaid by their customers in the price obtained for the salt. But the manufacturers complain bitterly of having to pay Is. per ton upon all coals brought up to the works, and this has been a subject of repeated public discussion and agitation, while efforts have constantly been made to induce the trustees of the navigation to remit this obnoxious duty.

We now come to the consideration of rock salt, or salt in its natural state. The county of Chester in this vicinity, seems to rest upon ail immense tract of salt formation. It would appear in this case, as in others in different parts of the world, that there has been at one time an immense brine or salt lake left by the waters as they retired, and the continent appeared. Here as elsewhere, we find a ring as it were, of hills or high lands about the salt deposits. The solar heat, of greater intensity perhaps then, than it is at present, evaporated the aqueous particles of the briny lake, while mysterious volcanic agencies assisted in forming for man a mineral of such value, profit, and importance. But who shall speak authorita­ tively, and say at this time, or that, these mighty deposits took place. Or how long were they in so consolidating into such Titanic masses? It is with bated breath, and something like a feeling of awe, that we even think of that period so long ago, when the young stars sung to

115

a newly forming world. The mineral, or rock stilt, was discovered by accident, while sinking a brine pit at Marbury in ] 070, and it was again found in 1779, at Witton on the Weaver. Northwich and Winsford rest entirely upon rock salt. The former town is almost built over it. The salt formation extends a mile and a half N.E. and S.W., and about 1,400 yards in the opposite direction. In other directions its extent is not known. Occasionally the rock gives way and causes a frightful sinking of the earth, by which buildings are shaken, roads destroyed, and much destruction of property takes place. The river Weaver has been, in some cases, much enlarged in its course by this subsidence of the rock. Leland mentions " that a mile from Comber Abbey, a meadow sank suddenly, and with it a peace of a hille having trees upon it, and after that there was a pitte of salt water, and the Abbate began to make salt, but the men of the wichs com­ plaining, compounded with the Abbate that there should be no more salt made." This pit was no doubt formed from the wasting away of the rock by the water washing under it. The brine springs are found not only on the top of the rock, but under it, and I have been told, that in some mines the water can be heard rushing like a torrent. There are two rock pits at Winsford, which deliver 3,000 to 4,000 tons; the Northwich mines, 40,000 to 50,000 tons annually.

Rock salt is found at a depth of 100 to 150 feet below the surface. The stratum is about 76 feet in thickness. Next to tiie rock salt is a stratum of brown or earthy stone of 30 feet in thickness, and then below this there is a salt deposit of 75 feet in thickness. The lower deposit is the only one worked at the present period, and the average depth of the work­ ings is not more than 15 feet. The depth of the shaft to the lower mine is about 330 feet. The old way of boring the mine was by puddling the sides and casing them with wood as the men went down, but now iron cylin­ ders are used. The water is pumped up from the first or top brine spring to prevent its flooding the mine below. There are two or more shafts to each mine. On looking down the yawning mouth of a rock pit, it certainly does require some nerve, in any one unused to such a style of lo­ comotion, to descend 330 feet in a bucket. The entrance to the mine is roofed over; and from a lofty pulley there is suspended a ponderous chain, to the end of which the bucket or tub, used to bring the rock up to the surface, is appended. Each bucket will hold about two tons of rock salt. There is a sliding platform over the mouth of the pit, which is withdrawn

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when the bucket is in motion. On being drawn to the surface, the bucket rests upon the platform, and is thence wheeled away to the barge or flat waiting to be loaded. The miners find their way about very easily. The mine is dry at the bottom, and the work is not of an unhealthy nature, nor so liable to danger as in the coal mine. A mine fully lit up is an extra­ ordinary sight, the gigantic pillars supporting the roof have, some resem­ blance to sugar-candy. There are railways running from the workings to the mouth of the pit. The rock salt is detached by blasting. The tem­ perature of a mine is about 53 degrees. There are at present 23 mines in Cheshire the quantity of rock salt brought to the surface averages about 100,000 tons annually. The cost of machinery in these mines may be estimated at £500,000.

It must not be forgotten in closing this paper that in 1703 Liverpool was famous for producing white salt. The salt works stood in Orford Street, near the south-east corner of the Salthouse Dock, which takes its name from their vicinity. It is a notable circumstance, as showing the indestructibility of salt, that a well, now existing, or which did exist within the last two or three years, on the site of these works in Orford Street, and which was in use when they were in operation, is so strongly impreg­ nated with saline matter as to be useless for ordinary purposes.

The Liverpool works were removed to Garston under the same pro­ prietorship that of the Messrs. Blackburne. At the Garston Works, the proportion of rock salt used is 15 tons to 45 tons of sea water, to produce 13 tons of fine or table salt.

The following tabular statements show certain statistics connected with the subject:

I. Quantities of Bock Salt and White Salt sent down the Biver Weaver.

Years. White Salt. Eock Salt. Total. Tons. Tons. Tons.

1846 ......... 436,259 ......... 103,043 ......... 539,3021847 ......... 523,004 ......... 98,311 ......... 621,3151848 ......... 590,571 ......... 108,829 ......... 699,4001849 ......... 614,670 ......... 81,419 ......... 696,0891850 ......... 524,098 ......... 86,238 ......... 610,3361851 ......... 487,720 ......... 81,103 ......... 568,8231852 ......... 625,458 ......... 74,466 ......... 699,924

117

II. Salt Exported from Liverpool during Ten Years.Years. Tons. Years. Tons.1841 .................. 360,8131842 .................. 384,2311843 .................. 462,8401844 .................. 429,1311845 .................. 431,1551846 .................. 412,361

III. EXPORTS OF WHITE SALT.

1847 .................. 472,7791848 .................. 522,1121849 .................. 454,6431850 ................... 445,6321851 .................. 552,2941852 .................. 568,077

Year.

1843184418451846184718481849185018511852

First Quarter.

79159740006054172774

10012381COO1271451103117301493805

Second Quarter.

12710712042811433405650134624150355150750129054151407134585

Third Quarter.

120867123299122002130138146805170440149033978C1

146516146830

Fourth Quarter.

9801181798101975928028583512015610340091R14

112175112134

Total.

425144405523405818301424473447B28551530388428340483112487354

IV. EXPORTED TO

Year.

18431844184518401847184818491S5018511852

Europe.

86612863538C81B97427103960124505105172841378402483923

United Statesand

B. America.

1752281661301414821297151080;!!)220006240913180716'211481242025

Ireland,Coastwise,Jersey &o

148372130984136950142111120491142035141320102807107282102700

OtherParts.

14932167504056222171440 Jl3444548983606808032556810

Total.

4251444055234058123U14244734475285515303884283404*3112487354

Those who wish for further information on the subject, I refer to: Ormerod's Cheshire, Transactions of the Geological Society, vol. i., page 46, old series, and to a learned and elaborate paper by Mr. Ormerod, which will be fouud iu the 4th vol., page 462, of the same society's publications ; Aikin's Diet of Chemistry, vol. ii., page 118; Holland's Agriculture of Cheshire; Dr. Henry's Philosophical Transactions, 1810; Furnival's His­ tory of the Wharton and Marston Works ; Dr. Brown's Art of Making Salt, 1768; Dr. Jackson's Philosophical Transactions; Caniden's Britannia;

Leland's Itinerary ; King's Vale Royal, Ac.

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II. EIGHT LETTERS RELATING TO CHESHIRE, OF THE TIMK OF ELIZABETHAND JAME8 I.

By Thomas Doming Hibbert, Esq.

The following eight letters, with two already published in vol. IV., of the Society's Proceedings, &c., form a most interesting series, and extend over a space of more than twenty-two years, the date of the earliest being prior to 1587, while the latest is 1609. They are, with the exception of one, all written by William Bateman to various members of his family. His father, John Bateman, was an Alderman of Macclesfield. He had two sons, Thomas and William, and a daughter " Katren." Thomas, his son and heir, was a yeoman and chapman in Macclesfield, residing close to the Mottersheads. While in business, he seems to have been in the habit of visiting London occasionally, probably to purchase goods. After his failure in business he gave much trouble to his family. His wife's name was Ann, and they appear to have had no children.

William, the second son, was educated at Oxford, and from the first of the following letters it would seem that he was ordained by the Bishop of Gloucester about the year 1587. He did not marry till late in life, and probably his wife was Mrs. Holt, with whom he boarded. She was the widow of one of the Holts of Stoke Lyne, county Oxford, a gentle family, who appear in the visitation of Oxfordshire in 1574. They were a branch of the Holts of Grysellant, county Lancaster.

The daughter Katren, married a Mr. Evans, by whom she had a son and daughter.

The letter of William Bateman of earliest date, printed vol. IV., p. 196, alludes to the death of his mother, the putting out of his sister Katren to service in consequence, and the intention of his father to marry a second time from which he attempts to dissuade him. The father did marry however, as the first of these letters shows, in 1587. His death took place in 1601, as may be seen by the fifth letter.

I. To his Lovinge Brother Thomas Bateman at

Maxfield these with Speede

Jesus. Brother Thomas my commendations remembered unto you your

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wife and all other our kinsfolkes and frieudes. I drsire you to commend me unto my parents, though my mother be as ycat un- knowne. I trust in God hereafter we shall be better acquainted, and I request you to desire them both to have me daily in their prayers and the very same dealing I wish both of you, and my sister, and God willing I rnyseff will do the like towards you all, for your great courtesy offered unto me. I give you hearty thanks, but whereas you term our mother a Step mother : it is a very odious term in our country and therefore I pray you use it no more, because it is our duties to accept well of her who our father hath vouch safed to marrie, espetiallie if she use him well and honestly as she ought to do. And whereas you say your greatest comfort is, and may be in me next under God I would have you think otherwise that is this that our cheafest piety and comfort next after him, ought to be iii our parents, hut surely brother as you have bound me not only by deeds but words to be yours, soo by God's Grace I will continue yours to command in what I can, according to my slender abilities, whereas you write that you and my eister desire to see me in Macclesfield I trust in God the summer next coining it shall this it cannot And wh'as you say 1 shall have a home with you I thank you for it, but I hope in God I shall not be only welcome unto you but also to my parents when I come. In my last letter I directed unto my father I signefied unto him what I had done for my sister, and what I would do if I could have any good hope of towarduess in her, and in the same mind I continue still. I write the like letter too her that is here in iuclosed, to admonish her to flee from idleness as from a serpent whereas that letter is not delivered, because the carrier cannot hear certainly where she is, surely it is very sharp and rough, but not without good cause. I pray you re­ member me most dutifully to my old Master Mr. Brownswerd his wife and children. And thus I commit you unto the Lord who grant that our parents and we may meet in his heaveuly kingdom after our pilgrimage is ended upon the earth

Ludgershall this 8* June 1587.Your loving brother

WJLLIA. BATEMANNE.

On the back of the above letter.My father as John Knight told me desired our countrimen Mr. Jackson and his brother and Mr. Potts brother, to ask me whether I was entered into the ministerie, as yet I pray you tell him I am not, not but I intend God willing to repair to the Bishop of Glos'ter with another student of Oxford by Gods help with as much speed as is possible and having obtained orders which I have very good assurance I shall do by the means I have worked, I doubt not by Gods assistance but I shall have livinge sufficient. I made this letter to have been delivered by our countrymen before named, but they came not by our town. I pray you if yon come to London

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this year, come to Ludgisale and if I be not theire you shall heare where I am, come unto me that you and I may confer together.

The next letter is not dated in the usual way, but has on the cover " anu° 1588." We might however conclude that it is second in order from the nature of its contents, as in it William receives assistance in money from his brother Thomas, whereas Thomas in all the others requires aid from him.

II. To his Louing fath'Ihon Bateman dwellinge at MaxfelJe in Cheshire theise in hast.The minist* by whom I would

you should send mee worde as to all things dwelleth by mee and is at Alton in Stafford­ shire vntill the 12th March

Ann" 1588. Jesus

Welbeloued fath* I most hartilie commende mee vnto you & my mother desiringe you both daylie to rememb* mee in yor praiers, as I for my parte by gods p.mission will you etc. I pray you hauemee commended to my broth' Thomas and my sist' Ann, & I would desire you to giue my brother greate thankes in my name for the xs he sent

- me by M' Jacksonne wcl' by gods grace I will recompense when it shall please him to bestow bctf abilitie vppo" mee, but in the meane time T must desire both you & him to accept of my good will. Theare is one Croslie as hee nameth him selfe an old ma" wcl1 hath bine twice wtu me at Stoke wch tould me you certified him you had writt a letf vnto mee wch as yeat I nev* receiued nor anie one from you since my comminge into the couutrey wch maketh mee greatlie to marvell for theire commeth not one fittmesseng' fro mee that shall passe w'thout alett' if I may haue time to write. If my broth' Thomas come to London this yeare I would desire him to see mee in his iorney but as I vnd"stande by his last letter he mis- tooke my worde when wee two conferd togethr> for he writeth theirein to know whetli' I am full minister, lam soe now, &was then, though my travailiuge wch was verie great, & the pairne"' for my ordrs cost mee verie deare, wch payment hath houlde" mee vnder, & as yeat I am not able to discharge it all; for my wages for the Cure is but bareviij£ whereof I pay vijs Subsidie, & verie neare vj£ my boorde, & I haue but flue scholl15 in our parish, & for anie forth of the p.rish not lightlie anie because others doe schoule as well as I. I would most willinglie see you this yeare if abilitie would p.mitt, but I doubt I shall lacke wher w"1 to doe it, vulesse you will doe mee that pleasure, as to lende mee xxs wcl1 xxs would make full payment vnto him of wkome I borrowed iij£ whe" I made suite for my ord". And

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if you will doe soe muche for mee you shall receiue it againe wUl a betf some if god spare mee lyfe & health wth in the Twelmonth, if possiblie you may doc it, I would request you to take the paines to bringe it to Mr. Lees the bearer heareof my neighboure. & verie deare frende & one of the same cote that I am; & if you will doe mee this pleasure it shall goe verie harde but I will see you this yeare (if god will) if you doe not the" I cannot in'noe wise. I pray you doe my dutifull commendaconnes to my good old Mr Brownswerde my M & his two eonnes w"' all othr our frends. I desire greatlie to know wheare my sistr Katren is & how shea doth, of whom I pray you certifie mee in yo' next letter. Thus trustinge you will co°sidr of the p.misses I commit you vnto god & the lord Jesus blesse vs both; from Stoke the vth of March

your Louinge sonne to his power WILLIAM BATEMAN

The third is from Thomas, to his brother, informing him that he has been imprisoned for debt. Its date is 1593. He seems to have remained in prison till 1001 (vide 5th letter).

III. To his Wel beloved bro­ ther William Batenian curat at Stoke in Oxfordshire gyve

these.I pray you mr ffrauncis Jacksonne that you will see this letter

dileuered to him aboue written,

gyue theise to Mr Jack­ sonne dwellinge in Show lane in Kobin hoods courte.

Brother William after my most hartie commendations trustinge in god you are in good health as I was at the makinge hereof, these are to let you vnderstaud that I beinge imprisoned for dete I am determined to make a convay of my landes vnto you and your heires for ever after my decease yf soe be that you will satisfle my creditors; yf you refuse this offer that then I may craue at your brotherly nancies that you will show me this fauour that you will talke with my creditors and agree or enter into bandes with me and for your discharge you shall [have] my landes morgaged vnto you. Thus committinge you to the almightie I end. Maclesfeild the xxiij day of Aprill 1593 :

Mye ffather and Mother are in good health thankes be to god my ffather would a made a saile of the house but for me and sould vnto Maister Steppletou but I refused to sailed with him and a delivered him the euidetice.

122

I haue paid many of my creditors as I longe as I had any monye now 1 beinge destitute of monye request that you will stand a good brother vnto me for now I have noe monye to maiutaine me with. I pray write your minde unto my ffather yf you will not come downe yourselfe. I desire that you will not gyue my ffather to understand that I haue certiffide you that he would a sould his house to Maister Steppleten. for yf you doe he will he offended with me

IV. To his Louinge fath' John Bateman at maxfeld deliv 1*

theise Aprill xii 1599.

Welbeloued fath' aft' my most dutifull commendaconnes vnto you & my louing moth* desyring you booth to pray to god to blesse mee etc. I received yor lett 1' & my broth this xij"' of Aprill by this bear' William Deluus and I entended god willinge though you had sent no messeug' to hauo come downe eythr the next weeke or the vveeke followinge, & the same determination I hould still. My broth' writes vnto mee that he can haue as much for the grounde for xxj yeeres as you can haue for the purchase: I pray you then that booth hee and you doo what you can to let all be let as well as you can & I doubt not but that will greatly besteed us all, & soe the house may be reserved still. I entend to repair to a coimsell* to craue his counsell in our evidences before I come downe. I pray you let all things be soe p.fected as neei'6 as you can y* when I come downe I shall need but to stay a short tyme. In anie case I would entreat you that my broth' p.seutly after the receipt heireof may see this letter. And this I end committing you vnto the tuition of Thalmightie who ev' blesse vs & send vs his heavenly kingdome. I pray you haue mee commended to my broth' Thomas, & my sister & in anie sort I would desire that booth of you laboure yo' busiuesse diligently, till I come downe, & to effect it for all our goode as ueere as you may. From stoake the xij th of Aprill.

Yo' Loving sonne to commaund WILLIAM BATEMAN

The next letter speaks of his brother's release and his father's death.

V. To his Louing brother ThomasBateman residing at Maxfeld inCheshire theise with speede.

Brother Thomas I haue me most hartilie commended vnto you & niy sister Ann with all the rest of our frends in Maxfeld. As theire was nev' anie thing that grieved me more then yo* imprysonment, so theire was nev' anie newes that evr I heard made me more ioyous then yo' releasement did; for I was partlie persuaded that you would have laine theire during yo' life, unlesse it had so pleased God to have blest me that I might have beue able to have set you at

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libertie; for I did feare that if you had rested theirc till after my fath" discease that the house & lande by some indirect meanes would have bene got from you, but now I truste you will looke to all things & show yo'selfe faithfull & honest towarde eveire ma7i & re- maine his fast freind for evr that released you, if he haue not done it to yor vttr decay & overthrowe and so will I my self if I may knowe his name, for his meere good will and kindnes shewed towardes you, & not onlie to him, but to anie freiude of his as much as in me lyeth; for though both of vs be of small power now, it may please God hereaft" we may be better. Secke broth'ly love and peace wth all men, follow yor buysines diligentlie & let tbeise yor troubles past be warning vnto you to looke to yo'self. If anie troublesome p.son molest you for house or land avoid lawing by all rneanes pos­ sible and desire some good freind of account and creditt to decyde all controv'sies betwixt him and you, keepe you possession & ear- uestlie request yo1 own freinde and yo r wives to assist and aide you & pray you vnto God & vndoubtedlie he will heare you in all yor troubles. Mrs. Holt with whorne I boorde hath had matt" of foure hundred pounds valew in suite both with spirituall and temporall law & I am assured she had iustice of hr syde, and did procure both Honourable and worshipfulle freinde to help that shea might have iustice: not- wthstanding I can tell you it hath cost hr mauie pouudes, much iorneying, and God knoweth, hard successe in the end, theirefore fly from law as from a serpent, this I knowe, because at hr peticion I dealt in them for her. I give you but this one instance, but I could give you manie. If Thomas Marler gave not my fathr the M s [10s.] wch I sent by him the 27th of Julie last, then certify him

that I would him delivr it unto you by the same token that at his returne from his broth he and I did eate a messe of cold milk and something els at Mrs Holts Hall at the long table theire and by anothr token that when he went away I went downe the streete with him & at parting I told him I would haue brought him further, saving that I must goe talke wtu Mr Holt in a medowe wch I shew­ ed vnto him. The greatest part of this matter was written in my last letter I sent unto you but I write it again, because I knowe not whether you received it or noe. I being in London this last weeke enquired of three, how my fathr & you did and two of them, namelic Mr Alien and Mr Broser said my father was not well & that he kept his chamber, but rinding out Mr. Henry Button, he told me that about two monthes agoe, he being in Maxfeld and hearing the bells, asked for whom they did ring and it was told him for my father for he was deade. Death is the end of all flesh, theirefore we must content ourselves and take patientlie whatsoever the Lord imposeth vppo" us. There was nevr to my knowledge a fit messeng' came betwixt you & me that came without a lettr from me eythr to my fath* & you both or one of you, includinge all things, in that letter, & requesting him to whom it was sent to show it to the other, as by Thomas Marler I sent two, one to my father another to you, de-

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maund them both of him So that I think vnkindues in you that you would sufP Mr. Norberie and Thomas Marlor to passe without yor letter to me. I pray you let me receiue a lett* from you with as much expedicion as you may, & cause it to be fast seald, and certify me in what sort you were releast, & how the matter standeth for house and laiide, whethr they be sould, wch 1 hope not, because you have evr protested you would not, or the evidences morgaged, or anie part let by lease, if they be, for what space they are soe. Also where my sisf Katren is & how she leadeth her lyfe, but I would desire that theise things might be set down rightlie and truelie. Thus I end committing you unto the Lord, who ev* blesse vs all. Aarholm 27th of October 1001.

Yor Loving broth* to his power,WILLIAM BATEMAN.

The next letter is very interesting, as it shows the expenses of Insti­ tution, &c., and the value of his living.

VI. To his Loving brother Thomas Batema" at Maxfelde in Cheshire

theise wth speede June xxixth 1603.

Brother Thomas aft* my most hartie comendaconnes vnto you & my sister Ann, praying to god to blesse you, and yo* proceedinges, & desyring you both in lyke sort to pray for me, & myne &c. Whearas you give me thankes for my kindnes towards you & my sister, I pray god much good may it dooe you, & if my abilitie were to my good will, I would haue done, & would now doe, that I am not able, you write vnto me, that whether you liue or die you will requite me, I looke not for anie requitall at all from you in money, because it seemes by you that is scarce : but a broth'lie, upright, & conscionable dealing fro1" you, that you would neithr sell, set, morgage nor use anie sinister meanes to defraude or keepe from me yo* house & lande. Vppo" Saturday in Whitsunweeke I was at M' Norberies, thinking to have mett wth some Cheshire men theire, because I had bine told that he expected some, & as he, and his wife told me they had made provision for them, but none came. & he said vnto me furth* that he thought to come downe about Michaelmas, but for my coming till I have something recovered my self I will not. My old freind M* Leigh hath resigned vnto me his Vicaridg of Cafflcld woh is worth xx markesthe yeere, but it hath cost me for my resignation institution"' induction charges he had bestowed about my chambr at Strettou, Awdley wheire I now dwell, & oth* expences aboue xiij£: so that all that I haue gotten at Stoke is spe"' vppo" this, <t for the commoditie of it from our last Ladies day whe" 1 entred vppo" it till the next I looke for none, for godwilling I will nev* be vnthankfull to such a freind as I have found M 1' Leigh to be. So that I haue nothing to liue vppo" this ycere but my bare ix£ at Stretto"' & yeat T am

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constrained to fetch it Quart/lie at Oxford, & by schooling I get nothing, because for div rse considerations that may insue, I will follow myne owne studie, the greatest p* of this some I giue for ray boorde: soe that I would intreat both you, & my sistr to p.don me both from iorneying & p ting from auie money, till I may truelie say I will spend myne owne money, & the" godwillipg you shall find me readie to pleasure you in what I am able, I protest vnto you theise matt are true, I haue writt vnto you. I heard since I rd yor lett* by a verie honest young ma" in Oxford that you line verie well, wch I thank god for, & much reioise in it, but my p.swasio" is, that you flee from law as from a serpent, & if it be possible that you be at peace wUl all men : & for the Intake I ca" neith' tell you my advice nor ask the advice of my freinds vnlesse I knew the circurastances of the matt' but for yor beginning anie suite wth anie ma" vnlesse doeing soe should be verie harmefull vnto you, I would not wish you in auie sort: but covet to get something that you may truelie say is yo' owne, as I by the grace of god for my p' will doe, & then in wrong that is offred you, I will help to assist you the best I can; followe yor owne businesse diligentlie, & carefullie, and deale faith- fullie & iustlie with all me"' & then doubt not but god will prosper, & increase you; I have sent you verie latelie a lettr by finney of Ald'lay w1* if you have received I would desire you to answeare me, I sent div's° times to the place in Londo" I se°' downe, to enquire for a lett' from you according to yo' promise, but I could nev' heare of anie, it cost me money to theise messeng'9 ; Though neith' you, nor I haue had much in the flourishing time of our age, we are bounde to give god thankes, for it was farre more then the bett' of vs deserved, but I trust god blessing vs, & lookinge vnto the meane chaunce we shall haue sufficient to mainteine vs, & our families, & to bid one another welcome & our freindes welcome, before we come to be old men> & when we are old men. About Michaelmas come twelumonth godwilling I entend to see you, for a little before that tyme I trust I shall haue something that I may say is mine owne, & that I can be content to spend to se you, & my old freinds but If I may p.fectlie vnd'stand that you haue eith set, sould, morgaged, eith' by anie oth' evell meanes deceiued me of house or Landes, except the passing of yo' field away from you to M' Alien in that forme you tould me, then farewell broth'' & sist'1 & farewell Maxfeld, for then both of you haue give" me speciall occasio" to bid all theise adew ; I pray god yo' newes be trew you write vnto me of my sistr> if w.thout offence to god I may speake it, vnlesse she would refonne hr old life & become a new woman.

On the margin.

I haue heard of many peticions delivered vnto our King but not of one * * * * woh is disp * * * * [what] the issue of theise matt wilbe the Lord onely knoweth. Commende mo 1 pray you to my cosen Ihon Blagge & his [wife] also [to]

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Mr. William * * * [and all others] of our kinsfolke and freindes.

[I] commends you both [to God] yor Louinge [brother]

WILLIAM BATEMAN.

The next letter would seem to show how rare nutmegs were then, as he sends two as a present to his cousin. It is evident also that Oxford gloves were then highly prized.

VII. To my Louinge Cosen John Blagge at maxfelde in Cheshire theise wth speede

Cosen John aft' my most harty commendaconnes vnto you and my good cosen yor bed fellowe, &c. I sent a lett' to my broth' Thomas bearing date the xxvi"' of June by MT Shirt willing him theirin to come upp wtt all expedition & he conies to me fifeteene wcekes aftr & belt', & I could nevr heare from him till he came : if he had corue imtnediatelie he had received that \ve concluded of, nay if he had come by St Mathewes tide w';h is a week before Michaelmas I p.test vnto you he had had it, for till then it lie by me still expecting his cominge. And when I could neith' heare of him nor see him verily I p. swading my self the circumstances considered he had othr waies p. vided, I lent it my neighbours as my broth' can certify you by my bande I shewed him. He receiued xx s of me now wch I pray god much good may it doe him. 1 have sent my cosen yor wife by this bear' two uut-meges in remembrance of hr kindness & goodwill: but if I had bene assured of my broth corninge at Michaelm. godwil- ling I would haue bought hr a paire of Oxford gloues & sent her. Rentes at this time were paid in our towne & I could not possibly get money to fit his turne theirefore good cosen John let me intreat you of all loue & kindnesse to haue me most bartilie commended to my cosen Henry Bateman & moue him for god's cause and the names sake that he deale not in rigour wth him but in mercie and looke what friendshipp you two shewe to him I will accept as done to my selfe. My broth' tells me he will let him out housing or grounds for his satisfaction, at such a rate as shall be thought good by honest discrete men & allowe him for his money according to the statute wch offer in my iudgement is both godly and honest. Thus trusting of your furtherance & goodwill to help my poor broth' what you may he securing you I leaue you and yo to Thalmightie being readie at anie time to my power to do you anie pleasure I can. Strettou Audley the xvj"' of Sept 1005.

Yo1 loving Cosen in what hemay. WILLIAM BATEMAN.

The letter next in order of date has been already printed vol. IV., p, 197. It invites Thomas to come to see his brother, at Stretton Awdley.

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The date is 1C07. It mentions that he had given Thomas money to a considerable amount. The last in the series is dated 1G09, and is addressed to his sister Mrs. Evans, whose conduct he rebukes sharply.

VIII. To his Loving sister Katre" Evans at Maxfelde or els wheire theise w"1

Speede.Sist* Evans I am verie sorie & much discontented that you co"tinue that vngodly, lewd, & idle life still, & traine up yo* childre" to doe the like. Whe" yor daught' was placed with my sisf & I am p.swaded had those things wcl1 were fit for hr and well vsed: I should haue thought well of you, if you had suffered hr to haue rested theire

. vnlesse you could haue betterd hr dwellinge. It is told me that in yor begging up & dowue the co"ntrie you are not abashed to prate, & lye that the house, & lands shalbe yo : but I can assure you that during my broth'8 life, my sist"' and mine owne life, & my childre" if I haue anie, you, nor yo cannot, nor may not, haue anie thing to doe theire. Lykewise yor husband saith that \vhen he cometh to Stretto" that I shall send for him before he wille come to me; for anie benefite I evr receiued at his hand or yo I haue noe occasio" to send for him nor you, nor I doe not intend it, nor furthr that anie of you all shall receiue anie pennies, halfpennies or farthing in monie or monie woorth of my goods, for y* I have I thank god for it I haue gotte" with great paines, & Industrie, & doe not intend to bestowe it of such that will frame themselves to no paines taking, but lead that life \vch by the law is trmed rogish, & may where they goe abroad be punished as roges; for such as feare god & respected theire owne credit, or the credit of theire kindred or freinds, would be most vilie ashamed to beg ; but rathr laboure dilige"tlie wth theire owne hands that they would be chargable to noo ma°' My broth' ca" tell you that when he made so many iornyes vnto me that I gave him at his last coming but one bare half crowne, & 1 told him that if he came againe he should not haue had one pennie, nor no more in good truth he should; & assure yo' self I will much rath' serve you soe if you returne the" I would him if he had returned ; for he ever came like a ma"1 & had a house to returne to, & wch most of all comforted me cou"tecl an honest ma"1 but wth you quite contrarie. Thus wth my comendaconnes to yo' husband trusting in god all thinges wilbe amended I commit you to god Stretto" Awdl. 1609

Yo' Loving broth' vppo" amendment WILLIAM BATEMAN